More than 36,000 people visited the festival and approximately 1,000 enjoyed tasting the wines. The good aroma and deep taste of Granite Belt wines were appreciated by the audience. Visitors who normally find red wines a bit harsh, said these wines were very smooth.

While price may make these boutique wines a special occasion or gift purchase for some, others wanted to know where they could buy the wines in Japan to enjoy more often.

WINE-TREE will now visit selected bars and restaurants in the urban areas such as Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka in addition to a shopping page of WINE-TREE web site. Granite Belt wines will be positioned in the niche and premium wine category.

In 2007 WINE-TREE began reporting what is happening on the Granite Belt though the web magazine. This is produced by Japanese wine journalist Akiyo Kato to draw people's attention to what is for them a new wine region and to establish the name of the Granite Belt.